MOUNTAIN IRON â Eighteen years as mayor. Attendance at 430 of 432 regular council meetings. Itâs not such a bad record, former Mayor Gary Skalko said with a smile on a recent day, about a month after serving at his last Mountain Iron City Council meeting, Dec. 21. With that final meeting came a poem written by a councilor and many reflections from the longtime mayor, who leaves a legacy of commitment to economic development and who was known for speaking his mind â and a few other things, too. Like taking a few moments at the beginning of council meetings to pay tribute to Mountain Iron residents who recently passed and offering condolences to their families.